Net Metering by State

What your electric utility actually pays for exported solar power.

What does your utility pay for solar you export?

Every state sets its own rules for compensating rooftop solar. Some pay the full retail rate. Some pay an avoided-cost rate worth a fraction of it. Some have closed their programs entirely. This site tracks what each state and each utility actually pays, with the source and the date it was checked.

Start with your state

2 of 51 jurisdictions have a verified policy record.

What is on a state page

Each state page answers the same twelve questions, so you can compare across states without re-reading a different layout every time:

  1. Is compensation net metering, net billing, a buyback tariff, or avoided cost?
  2. What rate is paid per exported kilowatt hour, and who sets it?
  3. Do monthly credits roll over?
  4. When do credits expire, and at what date is the annual true-up?
  5. What is the residential system size cap?
  6. What is the commercial system size cap?
  7. Is there an aggregate cap, as a share of peak demand?
  8. Is the program open, full, or closed?
  9. Which regulator has jurisdiction, and under which docket?
  10. What statute or rule governs it?
  11. Are older, more generous program versions grandfathered?
  12. How is the interconnection application filed, and how long does it take?

Why the numbers move

Export compensation has been the most contested area of US energy policy for a decade. Regulators rewrite the rates every few years, and the direction has mostly been down. A number that was right in 2023 is often wrong now, which is why the verified date matters as much as the figure.

Sources

Values come from state public utility commission orders and dockets, utility electric tariff filings, and published utility program pages. Each is linked from the field it supports. See methodology for how we verify and how we handle a rate that changes mid-year.